Top of Utah Half Marathon 2012 Race Recap

 I only pay for 2 or 3 big races a year.  With my family situation right now, I have a hard time justifying anymore time or distance or moula.  Someday that might change, but probably not anytime soon.  And it's kind of a pain having to sign up for races months in advance.  Maybe if I was better at checking my schedule I wouldn't have signed up and paid for a half marathon and my trail marathon only a week apart.  I debated even running the race knowing that I would have a hard time keeping myself in check.  And since my hip has not been 100% since my 18 miler I knew it really wasn't smart.  But...I have run this race 4 years in a row.  Not running it was going to be hard.  Luckily I remembered that one of my friends was running it who finished just behind me last year.  I knew if I could stick with her that I wouldn't push myself to that sub 2 half that I've been coveting for so long.  So...I texted with her to make sure it would be o.k. and felt much better knowing that I had a plan.

That morning we waited in line for what seemed like an eternity.  The line just never seemed to end.  We ended up being on the last bus to the start line.  It was perfect timing as it was pretty chilly and I didn't want to freeze just standing around.

Jodi, me and Heather. 

  

If this picture doesn't show it, it WAS really cold.  I knew we'd be glad though as soon as we started running.  Truthfully it took about 3 miles to feel my toes and for my hands to warm up.  

It was a great race.  I felt great the whole time.  I was able to run beside Jody and Dawn the whole time and just had a great morning.  We finished in 2:13 and even though my hip was a little tight, it wasn't bad.  And I know it would have been so much worse if I had pushed it.  And bonus:  Heather got her sub 2 with her husband!  I was so happy for her!

I got to see Suzette again and run with her for a bit.  She is amazing and it was fun to see her again.

At the end we talked to my idol, Julia McCabe.  She's 81.  They had to create an age category just for her last year.  She started running at the age of 40, ran her first marathon at the age of 49, and has run over 140 marathons.  As she says, "it's never too late to start."  Seriously cool lady.  I want to be like her someday. 

The crew from the neighborhood:

Cheryl, Josh, Heather, Heather, me, Rob, Jody, Doran, Dawn, and Jodi.

I live near awesome people.

Next up:  in 3 days I'll be running up and down and up and down a mountain.  I'm basically scared out of my mind and more than a little excited.